Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

One of the songs I’ve been playing the longest with the Reuben Kincaid is an original by Dan Brodnitz aka Cecil aka Dan about prison booze called “Pruno.”

In fact, before the Kincaid even got together Pruno was one of the first tunes Dan taught me and that we played together, and it was one of the first songs I recorded myself playing with Dan, when I started to get the idea that this playing music together thing is actually pretty cool. At the time we were playing it on piano and uke but not TRK plays it in our current power trio format, with Dan on guitar (sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric), the Reverend So-Called Bill on bass, and myself on ukululu, of course. Vocals on the “I don’t want to be right” chorus by hillbilly leprechaun Samuel, who would himself never make or consume pruno.

Over the last few years we’ve played the song scores of times, usually with some major or minor flubs. The version I’m posting today is done in the slow epic/anthem mode, and has its share of clams, but is also a fairly representative demo of how we play “Pruno” today:

Michael Port, author of a number of bestselling sales-guru business books, has now come out with a pocket volume called The Think Big Manifesto: Think You Can’t Change Your Life (and the World?) Think Again.
I like the arresting graphic design of the book (a publicist sent me an advance copy) but was somewhat wary of the bold marketing language on the wrapper. Still, I found on opening the book that I was drawn in by the author’s cool, knowing style and I prepared myself to be convinced.
I started reading the book, nodding my head: I agreed with just about everything I read. The prose voice is somewhat breathless, though, and I had trouble staying focused on the book’s flow. As brief as it is, I noticed myself skimming ahead to the summarizing statements.
I found myself agreeing with all of the specific advice in the book and wondering whether I can (or do) actually follow it myself. What most of it comes down to is daring to think big and avoiding the doubts and negativity and small thinking that can so often hold us back.
I like this kind of thing, though I am also wary of it. That is, I want self-help, breakthrough, artistic and entrepreneurial leaps, but I have also seen a lot of snake oil and easy answers in my day. So it’s love/hate with this type of thing for me, and sometimes I adore it (<a href="The Power of Now, The War of Art, Money & the Meaning of Life) and other times it doesn’t stick.
For all of the books of this ilk I’ve devoured, where are my masterpieces, my killer apps? I’m still waiting to see if this one will take.

*as promised via twitter:*
Serves 6:
7 limes
1 blood orange
4 mandarin oranges (medium sized)
1 pink grapefruit
8 fl.oz. Patron reposado
6 fl.oz. Cointreau (or Patron Citronge or any decent triple sec)
rock salt
table salt
3 ice trays of cubes
1. Put six cocktail glasses in the freezer to chill.
2. Reserve one of the limes.
3. Juice the rest of the citrus, mix, stir (you need about 9-10 oz. of juice. If significantly more or less, adjust the tequila and liqueur proportionately).
4. Add the tequila and liqueur, stir, put in refrigerator to chill/stay cool.
5. Crush the ice cubes.
6. Pile the rock salt near the edge of a circular plate.
7. Put the table salt on top of the rock salt.
8. Slide the one lime into at least seven wedges, notch the wedges with a knife.
9. Remove the glasses from the freezer.
10. Wet the rim of each glass with one of the lime wedges.
11. Turn a glass upside down and swipe its rim through the salt pile, repeating for each glass.
12. Put a large mound of crushed ice in each glass.
13. Pour the margarita mixture over the ice.
14. Garnish each rim with a lime wedge and serve.